by Ajahn Canda
Ajahn Brahmali arrived in Oxford from Perth, just the day before his teaching tour began with an evening talk at Oxford Quakers. The next day, we were all in high gear, ready to set off to the charming Surrey town of Godalming to “turn our lives into a true blessing” as the retreat promised. Local friend Wan Ling kindly drove the meditation mats down and Darren packed our recording equipment ~ and our Treasurer, Manori! ~ in his car, enabling us monastics and Matthias to have an unencumbered and jovial train journey.
Still before the current heatwave, the weather was kind to us throughout, as day by day the meditative atmosphere deepened. The Franciscan Centre proved the ideal retreat location, with gentle meadows, tree-shaded local lanes and a forested area belonging to the Centre ~ ample space to relax, unwind and enjoy walking meditation. Of an intimate group of thirty, about eighty percent were our regular supporters and volunteers, and we were honoured to welcome a close University friend of Ajahn Brahmali’s for his very first retreat as well!
Ajahn Brahmali was on excellent form, weaving threads and making connections between key themes in the Suttas, like drawing an intricate fool-proof map of the journey towards Awakening. For a good three days he went into great detail about the vital importance of spiritual friendship (based in turn on an ability to distinguish between the wise and the fool), as THE major condition for the Path to unfold. That was just the first line of the Managala Sutta, which astoundingly, we pretty much managed to complete! The profundity of the teachings was punctuated with delightful humour throughout and those I spoke to at the end of the retreat felt they had received a priceless gift.
Some of the retreat participants post-retreat, who had time to stay a while for a chat 🙂
We hope to organise more retreats at this beautiful sanctuary and invite you to stay posted for news of a prospective five-day retreat with me (Ajahn Canda) next July.
Hidden lavendar courtyard (which I only found on the last day, anyway!)
Back in Oxford and the next day we went straight into a day retreat near one of the Oxford canals, to practice loving kindness. Ajahn Brahmali’s visit ended in London, at the London Buddhist Vihara who are celebrating their Centenary Year, making them the oldest thriving Buddhist monastery outside Asia. The evening drew a large crowd of over one hundred people with another two hundred joining online and we thank Gobi for hosting Ajahn overnight. Samaneri Upacala and I spent the night in a lovely apartment in Hammersmith kindly offered by Umit. We semi-slept between loud thunderclaps, lightening strikes and torrential rain, symbolising (to us) the grand finale of a momentous tour!
At St Margrets Institute, North Oxford, softened by compassion, June 21st, 2026
Note: if you’d like to quench your Dhamma thirst without delay… many of Ajahn Brahmali’s talks and my guided meditations during the retreat are already available to listen to under the “Live” tab on our YouTube channel here! Enjoy 🙂